Car burglar caught in the act

SARAH MERTINS

Published 7:00 pm, Friday, May 21, 2004

Anthony Julian Diaz, 19, of Humble, was apprehended at the scene and has been charged with burglary of a motor vehicle.

Officer John Hopkins was in the parking lot of the Econo Lodge at 9821 Humble-Westfield at approximately 2:27 a.m. on May 7 when he observed a tall, thin white male wearing a multi-colored shirt and a straw western-style hat standing between two vehicles.

When Hopkins stopped and backed up to check him out, he was gone. Hopkins then checked the vehicles the man had been standing near and found that the right rear passenger window of a red Dodge Ram was broken. The truck belonged to a guest of the hotel.

Hopkins reported that he then looked inside the truck and saw a Hispanic male in the front seat, attempting to remove a stereo from the dashboard. The man, later identified as Diaz, was immediately taken into custody and a backup unit was called for assistance in locating the second suspect. The dashboard was damaged in Diaz's attempt to remove the stereo, Hopkins stated.

Diaz refused to give Hopkins any information on the second suspect, who left his hat behind as he fled on foot. Burglary tools were recovered from a vehicle parked in the area, and the second suspect was possibly identified by officers on the scene after they ran the car's information.

Bond for Diaz was set at $5,000, and he posted bond and was released on May 8. His arraignment was scheduled for May 14.